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Why Anthony Bradford won Seattle Seahawks' battle at RG

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2024

Press Room

Why Anthony Bradford won Seattle Seahawks' battle at RG

The battle at right guard is settled for the Seattle Seahawks – at least for now.

Seattle Seahawks rule out 2 key players for Sunday’s game vs Rams

After several weeks of splitting time with rookie Christian Haynes, the Seahawks are rolling with Anthony Bradford as their full-time right guard Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb told reporters Thursday that Bradford earned the job with recently improved play, including in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“I thought he did a better job finishing, his execution was better and he had a really good week of practice,” Grubb said. “I thought that was something that showed up in the game. He certainly wasn’t perfect by any stretch. He’s still working through stuff as a young player, but he’s finishing harder and he’s playing with better pad level and he’s starting to live up to some of the things we think he can do.”

Bradford had been getting the bulk of the playing time at the position, logging at least 60% of the team’s offensive snaps in the six games (Weeks 2 and 4-8) he split time with Haynes. And according to Pro Football Focus, the second-year offensive lineman is coming off his two best performances of the season.

In Seattle’s Week 7 win over Atlanta, Bradford posted a season-best 67.2 overall grade and career-best 87.0 pass-blocking grade. He received the second-highest overall grade of any Seahawks O-linemen and didn’t allow a pressure for the second time this season

In last week’s loss to Buffalo, Bradford earned a 65.3 overall grade with 67.9 run-blocking mark, which were each his second-best grades of the season.

Additionally, the LSU product’s penalty problem has subsided after a brutal first three weeks. Bradford committed a team-high seven penalties in the first three games, but hasn’t been flagged since.

Bradford holds an overall grade of 51.1 with a 57.3 in run blocking and 51.1 in pass blocking in 434 snaps this season. He’s allowed a total of 20 pressures and four sacks.

Meanwhile, Haynes’ performance has graded out slightly less favorably. In 104 snaps, he sports an overall grade of 48.0 with a 50.1 in run blocking in 53.3 in pass blocking. The 2024 third-round pick has allowed four pressures and one sack and committed two penalties.

Brock weighs in on RG decision

During his Blue 88 segment on Thursday, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his thoughts on why the Seahawks are rolling with Bradford as the full-time right guard.

Huard feels that the size and strength the 6-foot-4, 332-pound Bradford possess is distinct advantage over the 6-foot-2, 313-pound Haynes.

“It’s just the difference between (a baseball pitcher) 92 (mph) velo and 100 velo,” Huard said. “(Bradford is) athletic, he’s strong, he’s got a massive, massive frame and he’s pretty athletic with it. When he’s disciplined, when he’s conditioned, when he’s on point, when he’s … intentional about all of that, the upside and the skill set is just much better than Christian.

“And they’ve given him opportunities, but he has just been physically – this being Haynes – too many times physically overwhelmed, and Bradford’s not necessarily been physically overwhelmed.”

With that being said, Huard still sees plenty of work to be done on Bradford’s end.

“I think he has been, at times, mentally overwhelmed to do the right thing all the time,” Huard said. “So this is going to give Bradford every opportunity to maximize (his) talent. When we speak of talent, talent that is there, more talent than Christian Haynes has, but certainly a discipline that’s got to grow an awful lot.”

Listen to Brock Huard’s Blue 88 at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Macdonald previews Seahawks’ Week 9 battle vs Rams
• Rost: Answering three important Seahawks questions
• Is Seattle Seahawks’ run defense or rushing attack a quicker fix?
• Rost: The problem with the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest problem
• Salk: Richard Sherman is right about what Seahawks need – kinda

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Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season

Published

7 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Seattle Seahawks’ home, road opponents set for 2026 season

Patrick Mahomes and 2025 MVP candidate Drake Maye are set to make trips to Lumen Field to face the Seattle Seahawks next season.

The Seahawks’ nine home and eight road opponents are now set for the 2026 campaign. They will face what on paper will be a tough slate after securing the NFC West title this year, which means they will take on the reigning division champions from the NFC North, NFC South and AFC East in addition to their home-and-home series with their NFC rivals and matchups against each team from the NFC East and AFC West.

The numbers behind Seattle Seahawks’ defensive masterpiece vs 49ers

The full schedule with dates for games has yet to be released. The NFL typically unveils the following season’s schedule in May.

Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and Maye’s New England Patriots coming to town are among the highlights of the Seahawks’ 2026 slate. They could also be in line for a reunion with former coach Pete Carroll, as a trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders is on the docket. However, the Raiders are not expected to keep Carroll for a second season.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is in line to square off with one of his former mentors when Seattle hosts Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers. Harbaugh was the head coach at the University of Michigan when Macdonald was the defensive coordinator in 2021. Harbaugh is also the dad of Seahawks special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.

Seattle has three trips to the east coast next season where they will face the reigning NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles, reigning NFC South champion Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders. The Seahawks also faced the Panthers and Commanders on the road this season.

Here’s a full look at Seattle’s 2026 home and away opponents.

Home

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angeles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Chicago Bears
• New England Patriots
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Kansas City Chiefs
• Dallas Cowboys
• New York Giants

Away

• Arizona Cardinals
• Los Angles Rams
• San Francisco 49ers
• Carolina Panthers
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Denver Broncos
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Washington Commanders

Find more info on how each team’s opponents are chosen here.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Seattle Seahawks GM shares positive updates on Bryant, Cross for playoffs
• Drake Thomas an unlikely hero in Seattle Seahawks’ landmark win
• Seahawks’ season-long commitment to run game pays off in massive win
• Stacy Rost: Seattle Seahawks show their fatal flaw may not matter
• The 5 biggest plays that delivered Seahawks’ win over 49ers

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Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win

Published

19 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Seattle’s Defense Wanted To Show It Was The ‘Best Defense In The NFL With Dominant Win

Santa Clara—When Seattle’s defense stepped on the field for the Week 18 matchup against the 49ers, they had a few goals in mind, winning was of course one of those, but they wanted to show everyone watching they are the best defense in the league.

“We made up our mind that we were going to be the best defense in the NFL,” linebacker Uchenna Nwosu said. “We were going to show the world tonight and that’s what we did.”

As has been the case for the entire season, the Seahawks’ defense was once again a highlight in their 13-3 win. The Seahawks won, in part thanks to a dominant performance by the defense that held the San Francisco 49ers to just three points. The last time Kyle Shanahan’s offense was held to just three points was in his 49ers head coaching debut in 2017. Since then, San Francisco has scored at least 6 points in every game, until Saturday.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the 49ers were riding a three-game streak of great performances by its offense. Throughout all three of those games, San Francisco was averaging 42.3 points per game, 455.3 yards per game and 29.3 first downs per game.

Seattle’s defense held San Francisco to just 53 rushing yards, which included 21 yards from quarterback Brock Purdy, 127 yards through the air, a lone field goal, and just nine first downs. They also picked off Purdy once, sacked him three times and forced the 49ers to punt four times.

“They’re a tremendous offense,” head coach Mike Macdonald said following the game. “Probably top whatever in the league and have been doing it for a long time. They have great players, they have great coaches, and the numbers back it up. Our guys played great complimentary football today. They really did. I can’t say enough, but I can’t wait to watch the tape. There’s a lot of assists going on in there, guys rushing unselfishly to free somebody else up or to let somebody else have a two-way go so they can cover for them. How we played in the back end, it felt like we were ahead of plays. These guys did a great job. I’m looking forward to watching it.”

Christian McCaffery, one of San Francisco’s top offensive playmakers in both the run and passing game was held to his lowest rushing yards all season with 23 yards through the night and his fourth lowest receiving yards with 34.

Nick Emmanwori who had a team high seven tackles, as well as a tackle for loss and quarterback hit said, “Our front seven is the best in the world. Our D-Line is the best in the world. Got dudes like Jarran Reed, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy. Our edges are dogs. They handle business every week. We’ve got the best run defense I the league. It makes it easy for us on the back end.”

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What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

Published

1 day ago

January 3, 2026

Press Room

What does the Buccaneers beating the Panthers mean for the Seahawks?

We’ll have to wait one more day to learn who takes the NFC South crown.

The Buccaneers, losers of seven of their last eight coming into today, were able to piece together a tough, 16-14 win in bad weather against the Panthers. It was a calming three hours for the Bucs and their fans, who had seen their team go from theorized Super Bowl contender in the early months of the season to bottomless freefall.

Had the Panthers found a way to win today, the NFC South, and the #4 seed in the NFC, would have been determined. Instead, we’ll have to wait another day, as a matchup between the two NFC South rivals who are eliminated from the postseason entirely will now determine everything. Certainly ironic, but great for drama.

The New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow to wrap up their respective seasons, and while they’re not playing for much more than pride, both the Buccaneers and Panthers will be watching with great interest. If the Falcons win, today will prove to be little more than a minor setback for Carolina, and they’ll win the division regardless.

However, should the Saints get the road upset, everything gets flipped. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were seemingly skidding towards a shocking early offseason, would be awarded the division on tiebreakers. Their Week Eight 23-3 victory over New Orleans, at the time seemingly innocuous, would end up salvaging their playoff spot.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans are on hot runs right now, the Falcons winners of three straight and the Saints on a four game streak. It’s a surprisingly compelling game given that both teams are guaranteed losing records on the season.

And this is very relevant to the Seattle Seahawks, because depending on tonight’s result in San Francisco, the NFC South division winner will either possibly, or definitely, be the team they play in their first playoff game.

If Seattle prevails tonight and takes the top seed in the NFC, it is entirely possible that their Divisional Round opponent is whoever comes out on top here. As the top seed, they play the lowest remaining seed, which would be either Carolina or Tampa Bay if all three home teams win on Wild Card Weekend. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s entirely possible.

On the other hand, if the Seahawks drop their game tonight and end up the #5 seeded NFC squad, then they’re drawing the winner of the NFC South in the first round for sure. Seattle has already played both teams this year, dropping an early-season bout to Tampa Bay 38-35, and just last week handling Carolina 27-10.

Of course, the Buccaneers were a far better team in that Week Five matchup, and the Seahawks have changed radically over the last three months as well, so it’s a matter of debate which team Seattle matches up better with. I imagine most Seahawks fans would feel good about either opponent, but there’s probably a preference somewhere in there.

Regardless, we’ll be waiting one more day to find out who the opponent will be, by which Seattle will already know if they’re watching the first round of the playoffs on a bye, or facing off against the south’s winner on the road.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images